Dennis reports to me insists Keegan after another humiliation at Arsenal

Arsenal moved effortlessly into a three-point lead in the title race last night after Kevin Keegan's Newcastle suffered a second 3-0 defeat at the Emirates in four days.

Emmanuel Adebayor's header five minutes before the break, a Mathieu Flamini thunderbolt and a close-range Cesc Fabregas strike 10 minutes from time ensured another miserable trip to the capital for the Toon Army, who went out of the FA Cup there on Saturday.

Arsenal's time at the top may be short-lived with Manchester United entertaining Portsmouth at Old Trafford tonight, but Wenger was pleased to have put the pressure back on Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

The defeat left Keegan still looking for his first win since returning to St James' Park and it is now eight games since Newcastle last won in the Barclays Premier League.

"Thankfully we don't have to play Arsenal twice a week every week," said Keegan. "If we got points for being genuine, we'd have got something. We gave it everything but just didn't have enough quality at times."

Joey Barton was introduced early in the second half for his first action since being arrested for an alleged assault in the early hours following a Boxing Day night out.

But another toothless display in front of goal means Newcastle have failed to find the net in five of their past six League outings.

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For Wenger, it was business as usual.

"It was a repetition of the first game," said the Arsenal manager. "I like the signs of maturity we showed tonight. What's important is to be level with United and Chelsea going into April."

Dennis Wise took his seat in the directors' box alongside chairman Chris Mort having had his boardroom role of executive director (football) confirmed. Keegan insisted Wise's role would not impact on his job.

He said: "I had a chat with Dennis and I knew he was in the frame for the job. That was in place before I joined the club and it would have happened regardless. It's been very open in that sense.

"I'm all for the changes, they want someone on the board who understands football. I think it will work very well. He reports to me: the chain is established."

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Newcastle yesterday offered £2million for Brazilian defender Alvaro but his club Levante want more.

The club are also vying with Juventus to sign Czech midfielder Lubos Kalouda, 20, from Brno.

Newcastle hope to tie up a deal for Derby's Giles Barnes despite having a £2m bid rejected yesterday.